1 New Message
by neonjays
Summary: He motioned his finger toward the bright blue "send" button. It seemed far too cheerful for the message it was about to carry. With his hand shivering violently, he slowly pressed down on the touchscreen. The long paragraph made its way to Eva Rosalene's phone. Neil breathed in hard. As he slowly sat up and twisted open the pill bottle, he felt himself secretly wishing otherwise.


Just one small orange bottle. Would it really be so simple? The brown-haired man laid sprawled on his unkempt bed. The house was dark as the night outside. His eyes were red and swollen from the endless tears that had burned his cheeks for that insomniatic midnight.

It was too hard. He couldn't take it anymore.

He held up the tiny container above his head, turning it around to try to make out its labeling. He was all too familiar with what it said- the painkillers were his prescription. He was unhealthy, and it hurt. But the pain was not only physical.

Neil thought to the family who he was certain would never forgive him. He had lived his life a jerk, he felt. No one liked him. He was certain of it. And these pills…they had made everything worse.

And now, they'd be his destruction.

Neil Watts shakily grabbed his cell phone and entered Eva's contact in text. He began to type slowly.

"Eva,

You won't get this message until you wake up in the morning. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry.

I'm really sorry for everything. Being a jerk and a coward and a loser. I can't believe you could tolerate me, after all the things I've done to annoy you."

The words began to pour from his fingertips onto the luminous screen.

"Truth is…I really like you. You are so different, I didn't think I'd ever end up feeling toward anyone the way I feel to you. I don't want this to sound like some sappy TV drama, but I think you are an amazing person. I don't deserve you at all.

I'm telling you this because I'm going to kill myself now. It's too hard, Eva. I can't live like this anymore.

I hope you will miss me (I doubt that anyone will)"

He motioned his finger toward the bright blue "send" button. It seemed far too cheerful for the message it was about to carry. With his hand shivering violently, he slowly pressed down on the touchscreen. The long paragraph made its way to Eva Rosalene's phone. Neil breathed in hard. As he slowly sat up and twisted open the pill bottle, he felt himself secretly wishing someone would magically appear to stop him.

The lady laid in her bed, sleeping soundly after a long day's work. Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound awoke her from her slumber. She opened her eyes groggily and realized her phone was going off. "I forgot to turn it off…" She slowly sat up and looked to her brightly lit phone. A new text had arrived, and she decided to open it, despite her annoyance at the fact she had not remembered to shut her phone down. Then, Eva saw the text was from Neil. "What could he want at 1 in the morning?" Anger filled her chest.

Until she saw the contents of the message. She felt tears form in her eyes as she read the words; severe panic rose and her heart began to pound rapidly. As quickly as she could in her shaking state, she replied.

"NEIL? ARE YOU OKAY?"

"PLEASE NEIL ANSWER ME"

"YOU CAN'T"

"PLEASE DON'T"

Neil Watts sat at the end of his bed, staring down at a handful of pills. They felt heavy in his hand. The atmosphere of the bedroom around him seemed so dull and lifeless. "There's no turning back." he mumbled softly. "I already sent the note."

As he began to lift his hand, his phone rang several times. He looked over slowly and saw that Eva had somehow been awake and replied.

He could almost hear the fear in her words. He felt embarrassed at the fact she had seen his note before he was dead. She kept sending messages again and again, trying to get him to respond. Eva's replies were so desperate. "It's not genuine." Neil grumbled dully. But he couldn't just sit there as his co-worker persisted. He began tapping on the device's keyboard.

Eva felt scared tears run down her checks. A sick feeling had filled her body. "He's not gone yet!" she whimpered to herself. Suddenly, Neil had sent a reply.

"Why shouldn't I?"

A pang of relief made Eva feel light-headed.

"Because you are a good person and have helped so many people!"

As she typed these words, she had begun to get up and quickly get dressed. She slipped on a pair of shoes and was at her car when Neil sent another text back.

"You don't really mean that."

"I really mean it." Eva shot back quickly. "People like you. I like you." The dark-haired doctor hopped into the driver's seat of her car and drove off into the cold night.

Neil set down the handful of pills and felt himself ready to sob. He grabbed the phone in both hands trying to think of a reply. He was beginning to severely regret sending Eva a suicide note.

Her co-worker's house wasn't far. She continued to text him as she drove, struggling to stay within the speed limit on the empty, black roads. Eventually she arrived at Neil's townhouse. She stuck her phone in her pocket and rushed over to his front door, loudly banging her fist on the solid wood. "Neil!" she shouted into the overcast night. "I swear, let me in or I will knock down the door!"

Several moments passed, and finally Neil Watts opened the door slowly. Eva saw her friend in a state in which she barely recognized him. His hair was an absolute mess, and his glasses were nowhere to be found. Under the sad, pale face she could still see the Neil she knew.

"You…came all the way here?" Neil said slowly. He opened the door wider and Eva walked in.

"Neil." she said shakily. Then, at that moment in the dark, she rushed forward and tightly wrapped her arms around him. Her head stood parallel to his- and she could feel his breathing begin to grow unsteady until he had fallen into weeping.

She had come to pull him out of it. He had expressed his hurt, and Eva was there. He was crying so hard he couldn't feel anything else. Soon, she unfolded her arms and looked directly into his eyes. "Want to talk?" she stammered. Neil lessened his crying and turned on a light. With his absence of glasses and the addition of tears, he could only see in blurs. Yet he still sat down beside his friend. She looked up at him.

"How long have you felt this way?" was the first thing she asked.

"Felt about what? Having a crush on you or wanting to be dead?" he questioned back blankly.

"Feeling like you are worthless." Eva said. "You aren't, and it hurts that you think you are."

"A long time." Neil raised his legs up and folded his arms around them. "People hate me and I don't blame em'."

"Whoever hates you is wrong. Everyone has flaws but that just makes you human. Your good outweighs your bad. You are funny, helpful, and often get me through my day without stressing. You've helped me, it's not out of the question you've helped so many others. Besides all the people you've given good final wishes."

Neil didn't say anything.

"Did you really want to give everything up? Even with the option to fix what is hurting you through Sigmund Corp.?"

"My life is too messed up to fix." Neil stammered. He felt himself tearing up again.

"Nothing is too hard to fix. And I will help you to resolve everything you will allow me to!" Eva looked to Neil's panicked face. Slowly, she leaned in towards him.

Neil felt Eva's lips touch his. It was sudden, soft, and short. He was left confused, as she pulled away and smiled weakly. "But romance doesn't solve everything…" Neil said dimly.

"It doesn't matter." She said. "I want to help you because I like you. A lot. And if you ever feel this way again, talk to me first. Please."

Neil nodded and wiped away his tears.

He went to his room and retrieved his glasses. When he returned, Eva noticed his unusual grim complexion was seemingly beginning to melt away into the usual Neil. "Hey." she said with a smile. "Wanna play a video game?"

Neil's face brightened greatly. "Sure."

The hilarious GLaDOS dialogue and sounds of wooshing portals filled the small house all night. Morning soon came, and Eva realized she would have to leave. Neil was asleep upright on the couch. She smiled before letting herself out.

"We can get through this. Things always get better." she said softly as she left, possibly seeing a faint, lighthearted smile grow on Neil's bright face.

**end**

_Someone loves you. If you ever feel worthless, remember that you are truly a good person, no matter what you have done. Everyone deserves life and love. No exceptions. I promise, friend, things will get better, even if it takes time. But you are strong. You can make it._


End file.
